Chapter 371 - 373: Production
On the last day of September, after dinner, Xia Xiao noticed blood when she took a bath, and she felt some pain in her stomach that came in waves, accompanied by the urge to urinate.
"Mom, I’m bleeding, and my stomach hurts a bit," Xia Xiao hurriedly reported.
"Let me check," Zheng Xianghong quickly reached out to take Xia Xiao’s pulse and joyfully announced, "It’s time for the baby to come."
Xia Xiao had already noticed the bleeding yesterday, but there were no signs of labor, and now with the stomach ache, it seemed that the birth was imminent. Xia Xiao was tense but also felt a slight relief.
Although she had heard from some mothers that being pregnant was actually the easiest part, and once the baby was born, there would be much more to do, and taking care of a child was particularly exhausting.
She had also heard mothers jokingly say that when a child wouldn’t behave, you’d wish you could stuff them back into your belly.
But now, Xia Xiao was eagerly looking forward to giving birth. The pregnancy had felt too long, everyone was busy, and she was the only one idle, having to consider everything before doing anything, which was inconvenient.
"Mom, it stopped hurting," said Xia Xiao again, "I’m going to use the restroom first."
But after going to the bathroom, Xia Xiao didn’t feel the urge to urinate and mentioned it to Zheng Xianghong.
"It’s normal, these are contractions. If the contractions become more frequent, then it’s time for the baby to come," Zheng Xianghong explained to Xia Xiao the signs of labor.
Upon hearing that Xia Xiao was about to give birth, everyone became expectant.
But with the bleeding and the amniotic fluid not yet broken, Xia Xiao’s heart was in turmoil, while Zheng Xianghong had already started to get busy. Gao Guoqiang and Gao Jiazhi were sent by Zheng Xianghong to go sleep in the old house, and little Weilin was also taken with them.
"Xia Jing, you should also go back to Youth Point," Zheng Xianghong advised. "It’s not appropriate for an unmarried girl to be here while your sister is in labor."
Xia Jing shook her head, "Auntie, I want to stay with my sister." She had no intention of leaving.
Xia Xiao moved her mouth, wanting to persuade Xia Jing to leave, but giving birth was somewhat frightening, and from time to time when she felt pain, there was an impulse to hug her belly, squat down, and roll on the ground.
"I need to go to the bathroom," Xia Xiao felt the need to use the restroom again, but as soon as she moved, her stomach started hurting again.
Xia Jing offered, "Sister, let me help you over."
Xia Xiao shook her head, "I’m scared to go. What if I give birth in the restroom and the baby falls into the toilet?"
At that moment, Zheng Xianghong came over, and after hearing Xia Xiao’s words, her lips twitched as she said, "No worries, go ahead."
Thus, Xia Xiao frequently visited the restroom, and after nine o’clock that evening, her water broke, and the contractions became increasingly frequent.
Sun Yuhua had called the midwife, who advised Xia Xiao to keep quiet to conserve energy, but she couldn’t control it. The pain made Xia Xiao wish she could roll on the ground. She lay in bed, turning to neither side brought relief, nor did walking around help — everything just hurt.
That night, the Gao family’s house was filled with the sounds of Xia Xiao’s cries. Eventually, she was biting on a strip of cloth, inhaling, pushing, inhaling, pushing.
"We still can’t see the head," said someone.
"Inhale, push, inhale, push."
"You’re not pushing hard enough," the midwife remarked.
Xia Xiao felt like crying. She thought she had exerted all her strength, even as much as she had from suckling as a baby, and yet they said she wasn’t pushing hard enough. She was clearly following their rhythm.
But the baby had not come out, and Xia Xiao was also worried. At this moment, Zheng Xianghong came in again with a bowl of egg noodles and said, "First eat some noodles. If you’re full, you’ll have the strength to give birth."
Xia Xiao’s clothing had been torn into strips, and she let Zheng Xianghong feed her the noodles. Although she had eaten dinner, she was hungry now.
"Mom, I want to eat the egg first," Xia Xiao said.
"Okay," Zheng Xianghong gave Xia Xiao an egg.
"Mom, how many eggs did you actually boil?" Xia Xiao asked while eating, trying to ignore the reaction of her stomach.
Both midwives were speechless, urging Xia Xiao to hurry up and eat. The water had broken, and it was best if the child was born within eight hours, otherwise the child would be in danger.
Outside, Xia Jing and Sun Yuhua were standing guard. As Xia Xiao ate the noodles, cooperating with the midwives, she seemed to regain her strength, perhaps because she was full.
However, after this ordeal, it was dawn, and Xia Xiao was in very messy, drenched in sweat, her hair wet and sticking to her skin.
Finally, at five in the morning, they only heard a loud cry, and the child was born.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and one midwife said with a smile, "It’s a chubby boy, probably over six pounds heavy, no wonder he gave his mother such a hard time."
"Ah," Xia Xiao cried out again, and the other midwife immediately told her to exert herself. The second child was much smoother to deliver.
"Another chubby boy."
Xia Xiao felt weak all over, and after only getting a brief look at the two children with a slight smile on her lips, she passed out from exhaustion.
At this time, Gao Guoqiang and Gao Jiazhi had both come over. When they heard that Xia Xiao had given birth to two sons, their faces beamed with smiles, especially Gao Guoqiang, who was moved to tears at the sight of his grandsons.
Xia Jing was extremely joyous in her heart, happy for her sister. With two sons, her sister’s future was secure and worry-free.
Sun Yuhua felt a strong pang of jealousy. To receive two sons at once, how fortunate was Xia Xiao?
"Dad, Mom, I’m back," said Gao Jiaxing at that moment, returning with several comrades. They had taken the overnight train to the county town and walked directly home from there.
"Jiaxing, you’re back," Zheng Xianghong immediately shouted, her face breaking into a smile, "Come and see your sons. Xia Xiao gave birth to two boys this morning; we were worried you wouldn’t make it back in time."
Jiaxing couldn’t contain his excitement either, "Mom, how’s Xia Xiao?"
"She’s sleeping in the room. Don’t disturb her just yet; she’s been tired all night," Zheng Xianghong said.
Upon seeing his two sons, Jiaxing looked from one to the other. Although the newborn boys were not particularly good-looking, Jiaxing thought his sons were very handsome.
Jiaxing was overjoyed but dared not touch them, as if afraid he might break his sons. Even when Zheng Xianghong encouraged him to hold them, he was hesitant.
Guoqiang had no such reservations. As soon as he saw the two boys, he couldn’t wait to hold them and didn’t want to let go. If only he could hold both grandsons at once, he would have.
Looking at his two sons, Jiaxing felt it was incredible. When he left, Xia Xiao’s belly had been flat. Although he knew she was pregnant, he had not seen it, and he didn’t expect to be greeted by two newborn sons on his return. This made Jiaxing’s heart boil like hot water, both bubbling and scalding.
"Platoon Leader Gao, congratulations," his comrades crowded forward, admiring Jiaxing’s sons, feeling a mix of envy and jealousy.
"I’m going to see Xiaoxiao," Jiaxing said and headed towards the room.
The room was already tidied up. Xia Jing was in Xia Xiao’s room, and when she saw Jiaxing return, she was stunned for a moment before excitedly calling out "Brother-in-law." It was a shame her sister was asleep, otherwise, she would have been so happy to see her brother-in-law’s return.